Princess Marina of Kent's diamond girandole earringsArchived Message
Posted by Arthur on November 7, 2014, 6:54 am
Princess Marina of Greece, Duchess of Kent, owned a magnificent pair of large antique diamond girandole earrings, reputed to be a wedding gift from her mother, Princess Helena of Greece (herself the daughter of Grand-Duke and Grand-Duchess Vladimir of Russia, from whom Helena could possibly have received these earrings):
According to the website "Artemisia's Royal Jewels" ( http://artemisiasroyaljewels.blogspot.fr/2013/02/british-royal-jewels-princess-marinas.html ), "these earrings are estimated to have been made around 1770s in France. They consist of a detachable pear-shaped diamond pendant surrounded by old mine-cut diamonds with pendants on either side. The earrings are quite long - about 8,8 cm long - and are mounted in silver".
As you probably know, these earrings were inherited, after Princess Marina's death, by her eldest son, Edward, Duke of Kent, and were worn by his wife Kathrin.
As the last time I have recorded Kathrin, Duchess of Kent, wearing these earrings was for King Constantine II of Greece's 50th birthday in 1990, I do not know if the seller at the 2000 auction was the Duchess of Kent or if she had sold the earrings earlier to an unidentified buyer, who sold it in 2000.
I guess that these earrings are sometimes loaned by S.J. Phillips Ltd. to celebrities. They were worn, for instance, by Daphne Guinness at the funeral of fashion designer Alexander McQueen on 25 February 2010 in London:
Caption: Daphne Guinness at St Paul's Church in Knightsbridge, London, following the funeral of legendary fashion designer Lee McQueen. McQueen committed suicide a fortnight ago. He was 40 (February 25, 2010 - Source: PacificCoastNews.com). (if you want to have a look at Ms Guinness' dress at this funeral, follow this link - but be careful, it can hurt the eyes : http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/pc/Daphne+Guinness+Kate+Moss+St+Paul+Church+Knightsbridge+WJmfRwtK56Ex.jpg)